There was a time early in this decade when the Detroit Pistons' model for success succeeded. It was based on the notion that four good offensive players could on a regular bases, beat a team with one superstar, and four other good players.
When Detroit beat the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004, they were able to overcome that weakness offensively, against the Lakers playing with aging superstars, like Karl Malone, and Gary Payton.
Now in 2009, Kobe Bryant—who was part of that team that the Pistons beat—is now of course on the defending NBA champions, and it looks now like they will be tough defenders of their crown at season's end.
The one constant in all of this has been Ben Wallace, who is and has been a very good defensive player for the Pistons, back in 2004, when the team won its last championship. The team was deep into the playoffs every year while Wallace was with the team.
The other constant in this battle has been the fact that he is not a very good offensive player. The 2009 team is attempting to return to contention in the Eastern Conference, and it doesn't appear to be working as well as it did back then.
To m ...
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Article written by William Crockerham
The Detroit Pistons Model is Out of Date
December 19th, 2009 by William Crockerham Leave a reply »
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